Health Care: Every Wisconsin resident deserves affordable and comprehensive health insurance. It is unacceptable that we have nearly 500,000 Wisconsin residents with no health insurance. Our citizens and our business owners deserve better. There are a lot of politicians who claim to be looking out for businesses and families, yet block any meaningful proposal for comprehensive health insurance reform. Instead of providing real savings for Wisconsin businesses and citizens, they protect the pharmaceutical and health insurance companies. I believe in helping our farmers, business owners and residents by making affordable health insurance an option for every Wisconsinite. Wisconsin's economy and its citizens can't afford politicians who defend the status quo. My priority is people, not big insurance and big pharmaceutical companies.

Campaign Finance Reform: We are long overdue in Wisconsin for Campaign Finance Reform. Lobbyists and Special interest money is drowning out the voice of Wisconsin citizens. I support and will fight for public financing of elections in Wisconsin. Lobbyists have been buying bills, writing bills, and have been benefiting financially from those bills for far too long, and all at the expense of the Wisconsin Taxpayer. A recent Wisconsin Policy Research Institute poll showed only 6% of state residents now believe elected officials are representing voters' interests. The vast majority of citizens believe that their elected representatives are just advancing their own political careers and doing the bidding of wealthy special interests. This isn't a party problem, this is a democracy problem. Hard working, tax paying citizens deserve better. Arizona and Maine are states that already have public financing for public elections. Our economy, national security, and our democracy can't afford the bought and paid for political process any longer! If you send me to Madison, I will work hard to get publicly funded elections in Wisconsin.

K-12 Education: I believe in our public schools. I believe taxpayer money should be spent on public education, not risky voucher programs that attempt to privatize our public system. Local issues should be handled by local officials, not politicians sitting in an office in Madison. I'm tired of politicians who take their personal grudges with public education out on school children by constantly gutting funding for their education. As a legislator I will improve our working relationships with the school districts in the 2nd district, not ignore and endanger them.  

Higher Education: I believe our four year and technical colleges are among the best in the nation. Unfortunately, Wisconsin residents are having a much harder time affording tuition and getting financial aid to attend college. We need to provide higher education opportunities for our residents so they can improve their quality of life. The UW System and the Wisconsin Technical College System are the twin engines of economic growth for Wisconsin. We can't grow Wisconsin's economy if we don't provide educated and skilled workers for our businesses. Ensuring that Wisconsin has the best-trained workforce around will put us at the forefront of the high-tech, high-wage industries that will lead Northeast Wisconsin to prosperity.   Making sure that we preserve the excellent outreach and training work of the UW-Extension will also ensure that we have the best possible foundation to preserve our agricultural roots. Not investing in higher education is the wrong direction for Wisconsin.

Taxes: We need to create a fairer tax system in Wisconsin. Thirty years ago, homeowners paid 50% of all property taxes collected by the state. Back then corporate income taxes provided 14% of tax revenue. Today, homeowners pay 69% and corporations pay 6%. I support closing tax loopholes that allow corporations to pay less than their fair share of taxes. It is irresponsible to keep giving corporations government giveaways that result in higher taxes for Wisconsin citizens. These irresponsible tax schemes will enshrine the current inequalities, guaranteeing that homeowners continue to bear an increasingly disproportionate burden for dwindling public services. We can't move forward if we allow our elected officials to ignore the problems.

Bill of Rights: I believe in the Constitution and our Bill of Rights. I oppose any measure that tries to incorporate discrimination in our State Constitution. I also believe in the 2nd Amendment, which gives citizens the right to bear arms. Our Constitution should protect people's rights, not take them away. Wisconsin's State Constitution is special; our state's founders put personal liberties in the very first section of our Constitution.

"Article I, Section 22. The blessings of a free government can only be maintained by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."